Japan 2008: One Cup Wonder – Sake Bar Buri

I was a man on a mission. This was only my second trip to Japan, and I had my priorities clearly defined. What was my number one top priority upon arriving in Japan? Catch up with friends? Eat Sushi at Tsukiji Market? Commune with nature at an ancient shrine? ….um, none of the above… My primary concern was finding One Cup sake!

One cup sake is sake packaged in a single serving 180ml cup that is often attractively decorated. This cup sake movement has been something that fascinates me, but it is pretty hard to come by in the States, so I had to find it in Tokyo! Well then… who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters! You’re Sake Wonder Twin of course! My Sake Sibling Melinda was given marching orders to find me cup sake by the time I touched down at Narita.

Lucky for me, Mel is totally down with the Tokyo cup sake underground and hooked me up with the fantastic Sake Bar Buri!

Buri was the site of some Tokyo sake meetups and I was anxious to give it a try. Mel warned me that the place was a “standing bar”… something that may not be best directly after a 13 hour flight from New York, but I summoned my Sake Samurai spirit and off we headed to Buri. The place seemed small, even for a cramped New Yorker like me. Everything was centered around a large circular bar with a kitchen in the back.

Mel took the lead and ordered some of her favorite cups. Details are fuzzy, due to Jet Lag, of course, not inebriation. All I do remember is that it was fantastic to see Melinda and catch up with her and that everything was delicious including the skewers and yummy tidbits we got to eat.

Would I go back to Buri? In a heartbeat. Hey, it’s only 13 hours away. It was fun, relaxed and right up my alley. oh, and of course getting to keep your little cup as a souvenir doesn’t hurt either.